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Practitioner’s Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents pp 355–385Cite as

Antiepileptics (Anticonvulsants)

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Abstract

Child mental health professionals should be interested in anticonvulsant drugs for three reasons. First, epilepsy is a relatively common disorder in children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and behavioral disorders. Second, anticonvulsant drugs, acting as they do to alter brain excitability, often have effects on behavior, emotions, and cognition. Third, the psychotropic effects of certain anticonvulsants, notably carbamazepine, valproate, and clonazepam, now are utilized in the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders such as bipolar and anxiety disorders, and this psychiatric use may well extend further in the future.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, USA

    Eileen P. G. Vining M.D.

  2. Private practice, Atlanta, Georgia, 30327, USA

    Richard O. Carpenter M.D.

  3. The Nisonger Center for Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210-1296, USA

    Michael G. Aman Ph.D.

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  1. Eileen P. G. Vining M.D.
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  2. Richard O. Carpenter M.D.
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  3. Michael G. Aman Ph.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    John Scott Werry M.D.

  2. Psychology and Psychiatry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Michael G. Aman Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

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Vining, E.P.G., Carpenter, R.O., Aman, M.G. (1999). Antiepileptics (Anticonvulsants). In: Werry, J.S., Aman, M.G. (eds) Practitioner’s Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0086-9_12

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